By Susan Flood, BAPA Executive Director
It’s August and once again, I’m helping my kids move. This got me thinking. What makes a place home? What makes Beverly/Morgan Park feel like home even if you’ve moved away? What do you love about Beverly/Morgan Park? BAPA wants to know. It’s BAPA’s job to know. We challenge ourselves to always be asking, watching, and listening so we are able connect people with the same passions to act collectively.
BAPA has a history of providing services and responding to problems. That’s an important resource for any community. But what if instead of providing the answers, we focused on the questions? What are the gifts and assets that make our community so distinctive? Some things we’ve noticed:
We have residents who are connected
Recently, the Beverly Hills Cycling Classic brought an outpouring of rain but more remarkably it also brought out and outpouring of support from over 2000 people who came out to the event and over 130 volunteers who helped and over 30 community partners who stood alongside BAPA and the cyclists. How remarkable it was that people were more driven to be together than they were to be dry and comfortable.
We have history
We celebrate our community’s history by maintaining the homes and buildings that make it so distinctive, so that we reveal the story about what our community was, how it became what it is today, and in turn can help us and our children understand who we are.
We have diversity
The diversity of our community is outstanding. In an age where diversity and race can be a touchy subject, it is comforting to see different cultures on virtually every block and refreshing that not everybody looks the same.
We give back
Our neighborhood helps families in times of trouble. We support a large number of non-profits, entrepreneurs and small businesses. We stand behind each other through the ups and downs.
We care about Art
Through our support of the Beverly Arts Center, the Vanderpoel Art Museum and the Beverly Area Arts Alliance to the many artists who call Beverly Home we have so much to offer. Our own Gary and Denise Gardner are the force behind the amazing Charles White Retrospective on display at the Art Institute.
We have Rainbow Cone
Seriously, right?
So tell us, what do YOU love about Beverly Morgan Park? All answers are important to BAPA. Join the conversation by emailing me at sflood@bapa.org. You never know, you might connect for action you never thought possible.
